Maeko
by Riki Hiwatari
Summary: Akebi village is being terrorized by a merciless demon... but when a villager enlists the aid of InuYasha and the others, what will they uncover? A Shippo fanfic... because every fox demon has their day. New Chapter
1. Chapter 1 The Curse upon Akebi Village

---- PLEASE REVIEW ---

Thanks for taking interest in my Fanfic, even if you don't read it, any support is encouraging. I'll work hard on updating and keeping things worth your time reading! I'll take your critisim into thought if it actually provides tips and suggestions for my story and/or writing style. I'm always looking for ways to improve my technique!

**Disclaimer**

I don't own any of the InuYasha characters, or anything related to the series for that matter. Several of the characters you're about to read about, are my creation however, so I suppose I have credit for them. Additionally, this story was also my idea.

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**Chapter One**

_The Curse upon Akebi Village_

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Morning had already gone by, and as the sun took its seat high above the Eastern Horizon, it was lunchtime. Under the shade of a tall, bushy tree, InuYasha and his companions had their mid-day meal.

Shippo was perched on one of the many branches, nibbling contently on a ripe red apple. He listened to Kagome and InuYasha squabble, and watched as Miroku was slugged by Sango for being a 'Perv'. Of course, this was their daily ritual, so instead of pondering it over, Shippo paid no mind and ate his simple lunch.

Out of the corner of his eye, the little fox demon saw a figure coming towards them. Shippo cocked his head, and found it to be a young looking man, dressed in farmer's clothes. Perhaps a local villager?

InuYasha was the next to notice him, and after just losing an argument with Kagome, wasn't in a particularly good mood. He stood up, setting aside his empty cup of ramen, and with a sour face, said, "What do _you_ want?"

The man jumped a little. "P-pardon the intrusion, but you all look so strong, and well…" The man stuttered.

"Let me guess… you want us to slay a demon? Feh." InuYasha snarled.

"Y-yes. Exactly… you see-"

"Heh. Well, we have our own problems so-"

"InuYasha!" Kagome scolded looking at him bitterly.

"What! We can't help every person we meet with their problems! We have to look for more jewel shards and that damned Naraku!"

"It's all about you! You! You! You! Well…"

"Hmm… this might be a while, tell us your story in the meantime." Miroku said sighing.

"I live in a village not far from here, called 'Akebi Village'. Lately, this demon has been terrorizing us. When chickens and crops first began disappearing, we assumed it was the work of a thief or wild animal, but the other day a demon was spotted stealing some food… we sent some men after it, but after an hour or so, only a few returned. The rest were killed. Worse still, something is making my village ill. The water… the air… something is plaging upon Akebi. I wouldn't normally ask the assistance of strangers, but I wish to save my wife and daughter before…"

"SIT INUYASHA!" Kagome bellowed.

"Daughter you say?" Miroku asked, suddenly becoming interested, ignoring the sound of InuYasha crashing into the ground just behind him.

"Y-Yes. She's about your age. Her name's Yumi, and –"

"Sir, we would be grateful to assist your village. Such a demon must be rid of before anyone else is killed."

"Miroku…" Sango said with a sigh. "Well, it sounds like the work of a shikon shard… it could be worth investigating."

"Now that you mention it… its very, very faint… but… I think I sense a shikon shard close by…" Kagome replied.

"…?" The man remained quiet.

"W-why didn't you say so earlier! W-what are we waiting for! Let's go already! Not that this d-demon will be hard to kill." InuYasha struggled to say as he wobbling back up.

_Women and power… is that all InuYasha and Miroku think about? _Shippo thought to himself continuing to munch on his apple.

* * *

The man introduced himself as 'Kousuke'. Kousuke had a thin frame, and appeared more delicate than most women his age, and his eyes revealed a very gentle character… or… in the eyes of InuYasha – a wimpy one.

Kousuke lead them down a trail that wound and bended all around Akebi Forest, until they finally reached their destination.

The hillsides and plains were covered top to bottom with fields of crops that appeared to be able to feed even the largest of armies and have enough for seconds. Simple wooden huts were dotted around, and with the little children playing their games of make-believe and the women and men doing various chores… it all appeared very tranquil – hardly a demon infested village.

It was at that point, that two men could be seen carrying a corpse down the road, covered with only a straw mat to hide the unfortunate soul's lifeless body.

"So… another one…" Kousuke said softly, bowing his head in respect. Miroku did a silent pray as well.

"Oh, father! You've returned!" Exclaimed a woman's voice. A raven haired maiden was running towards Kousuke, eyes wide revealing them to be a brilliant emerald green. It was at the moment an odd smile crossed Miroku's face. "Huh? Who are these strangers father?"

"Oh, this is Yumi, my beloved daughter. This, Yumi, are the people who've come to kill the demon." Kousuke gestured.

"R-Really? Oh! Do be careful! I'd hate to have such kind people be killed so unnecessarily. You're forever in our debt!" Yumi said with a bow.

"That won't be necessary Miss Yumi." Miroku said smiling. He grasped her hands. "Yumi… will be bear my chil…"

**WHAP! **"Can it Miroku! You're so depreived!" Sango exclaimed, bashing him hard on the head with her Hiraikotsu.

* * *

Yumi and Kousuke bowed several times, and said thank you a hundred times more as InuYasha, Sango, Miroku, Kagome, Kirara, and little Shippo all headed up the headman's house.

The headman himself was elderly, and his worn face looked tired and miserable, he didn't appear to be sleeping well. He bowed his head. "Who are you?"

"We've come to exterminate your demon." Sango said throwing her Hiraikotsu over her shoulder.

The headman nodded slowly, "We are in your debt. I'll have beds laid out for your stay."

"Let's cut right to it – where is this _demon_?" InuYasha asked raising an eyebrow.

"We're not quite sure… since the incident… it hasn't appeared, but in it's place a horrible illness is killing one innocent villager after another. It's in the forest though, deep within the forest. You might best wait till tomorrow…"

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**Chapter 1** - _The Curse upon Akebi Village **END

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How was that? I hope you enjoyed chapter one! Okay… so it wasn't 'thrilling', but I like to begin my stories with a little introduction, laying out the setting and all that jazz. Next chapter things will begin to pick up as I finally introduce an important character for this story.

Next Chapter…

_**Chapter 2**_

_Maeko

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	2. Chapter 2 Maeko

Shippo finally takes over as main character… Yay!

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**Chapter Two**

_Maeko

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_

As the sun drifted below the western mountains, the yellow moon rose itself high into the sky. The village of Akebi quieted done as evening turned to night, the tranquil village becoming as silent as a ghost town.

Shippo was sitting on the deck of the headman's house, eating a lollipop Kagome had given him as a gift from her 'world'. His stomach growled at him, he gave it dirty look. Sure, the headman was kind enough to supply food, quite a bit actually. But… there was something about the taste he didn't like, so pushed dinner aside and skipped right to his 'desert'.

"This… is pretty good." He thought aloud, taking another lick. "Kagome's world must have a bunch of neat stuff… _sigh_…" _Why does InuYasha get to travel realms and I don't?

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_

Later that night, when everyone was finished eating and was ready for bed, the futons were rolled out in the guest room, the candles blown out, and everyone went to sleep except InuYasha, who took watch.

"…_Just in case that demon decides to make a visit."_ He had said earlier.

Shippo curled into a little fur ball beside Kagome and dozed off into the realm of dreams…

Or for a little while anyways… Shippo woke up to the sound of a cough. He opened one of his eyes, and looked at Kagome who was sharing the futon. In the dark, he couldn't see clearly, but he heard her cough many times, often loud and hoarse.

"Ka…gome?" Shippo whispered. Kagome moaned and rolled over. "…" Shippo closed his eyes in return and went back to sleep.

* * *

That morning, they prepared to venture into Akebi Forest. Sango was dressed in her exterminator uniform, putting the finishing touches on by fastening her long dark brown hair into a ponytail, throwing her Hiraikotsu behind her.

"Well, you ready?" She asked everyone.

It wasn't much longer till they finally set out. The headman bowed and waved goodbye. Yumi and Kousuke, and another village woman, possibly Yousuke's wife, all waved good bye and luck as they passed them down the road.

Akebi forest itself seemed ancient. Most of the trees look old and some withered, but many continued to bare branches filled with vivid green leaves.

The gang walked down an old dirt path that seemed to lead them nowhere. InuYasha used his strong dog nose to sniff for any traces of demon, and it didn't take long for a scent to pick up.

* * *

As the group walked along the dirt path, there was a deep… loud roar that echoed through the trees.

"It's here…" Sango said grabbing hold of her Boomerang Bone.

Everyone went into battle ready mode as the air around them grew dark and the roaring ceased…

Then… behind them… the air began swirling into blue flames.

_That almost looks like my fox fire… _Shippo thought gazing at it.

An enormous creature emerged from the blue fire, large and round with wide eyes. "GIVE ME YOUR SHARDS…" It hissed.

Everyone paused, including Shippo. _This was the demon?_

"I'LL KILL YOU…" It growled, charging at InuYasha.

InuYasha looked at the strange demon, whacking it hard on the head. The swirling blue fire dispersed, and the giant demon fell to the ground revealing its true form…

It was very short, with a large puffy blue tail and ocean-blue hair that was fixed into pigtails. It sat there looking at them with a rude stare, with a little tear drop in its eye. The 'demon' was a little fox she-demon.

"OW! That HURT! Meanie!" It cried.

"This is the demon? Pathetic…" InuYasha said grabbing her by the tail. "This all seems so familiar…" He thought aloud, the fox demon squirming under his grasp.

"Let me go! Let me go you stupid dog!" She screamed, continuing to struggle.

"What did you call me!" InuYasha hissed, bonking her on the head again.

"This is just like when we met Shippo…" Kagome murmured. She looked at the helpless fox. "Are you the one that's been killing the villagers?"

The fox demon had given up, dangling upside down. "No! I've done no such thing!"

InuYasha let go of her tail, and she fell to the ground. "What a waste of time, come on, let's go."

"Hmm…" Miroku said putting himself into thought. "Could there be another demon? The villagers said their men were killed, and this demon obviously didn't do it."

"I don't smell any demons, and for they know their men probably just fell into a hole somewhere." InuYasha said putting his back to them.

Miroku said nothing further, but continued to ponder as he followed InuYasha, Sango right behind him, Kagome behind her.

Shippo stayed, looking at the blue fox demon. "Just ignore InuYasha. He's always like that."

The demon regained her posture. "Like I'd pay mind to him!" She snarled. She looked at Shippo, smiling. "But its nice to see a fellow fox demon! I'm Maeko."

Shippo paused for a moment, stunned by her dramatic change in personalty. "I-I'm Shippo. Hey, what are you doing out here anyways?"

Her smile dropped to a frown. "N-nothing important. Just walking around… Hey, can I come along you and them? Just for a little while? Since mommy and daddy left me behind, life's sure been lonely… its nice to finally be able to talk to people."

Shippo blinked. _What could she mean by that?

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**Chapter 2 **– _Maeko_ **END

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Thus concludes chapter two. Enjoying it so far?

Next Chapter…

_**Chapter 3**_

_Maeko's Story_


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